The Lighting of the Tree at the V Zoo Party 2009

Good morning, Zebee here. Boy! Did we have a great tree lighting party! So many of my boss Joy’s author friends came it was amazing. Many of them brought along their characters too. Let’s see how many we can remember.

Elysabeth Eldering came. She brought along Matt, Guy and Mary Beth, her Junior Geography detectives. They were searching for clues for one of her books.

Lea Schizas was there. Bubba and Giganto were with her. They sure are nice boys and good soccer players. We had a game between the story characters and all of us here at the V Zoo. We lost, but we vowed to have a rematch next year and win. We need a coach. Any volunteers?

Oh, and Bill Kirk came and brought along Ari. We all watched were we stepped so we wouldn’t crush him. He’s really a cool spider.

When Vivian Zabel arrived with Buddy, some of the characters wanted him to teach them how to rope Prairie dogs. Since the closest thing we have to that here at the V Zoo are the meerkats, that just wouldn’t work. Instead he showed them how to rope a fence poll.

Che Dee was there with Odo, the time children, Mashu, Cassie and the Tulies.

Mary Jean Kelso brought along Andy and Spirit. Spirit is a beautiful horse and Andy is amazing the way he can ride.

Dayna Hilton and Sparkles came. Sparkles had us all on our knees again. This time even I could do it. I’ve been practicing.

Rachelle Burk was there with Kenny and Allison. We all wanted to hear about living in a tree house. I’d like to climb up in a tree house someday.

Rena Jones and Dilly came. So did Shari Lyle-Soffe along with Aaron and Horace. Mayra Calvani and Humberto read us some of Humberto’s favorite books. Hugo also showed up with Elizabeth Dulemba with soap for everyone.

I’m sure I forgot some of the authors and their characters. The place was packed and we had a fun time.

Who got to put the star on top of the tree this year? Billy. He climbed up Star’s neck and placed it, very carefully, on the top branch.
Got to go, I need to finish making my gifts. We are all making things for each other this year.

posted by Zebee aka Joy Delgado
We go Beyond Reading
Laughing Zebra – Books for Children
Fun ways to help children learn
Books Go Beyond Reading

Book Review: My Grandmother's Kitchen Rules by Bill Kirk

Good Thursday everyone, Zebee here. When my boss Joy said that today's book was written by Bill Kirk, I got excited. I really like his book "There's a Spider in My Sink" that she read to us a while back. So, let's see what she has to say about this book of Bill's.

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Today’s book is a cute rhyming story about a young girl and her grandmother. Grandma loves all the things in nature that her granddaughter brings home, with one exception. Ants! Read along as all kinds of creatures and discoveries are brought home. See what happens when ants are introduced and the problems they bring with them. Do they get rid of them, if so, how? I'm not telling, you have to read this wonderful story to find out!

The illustrations in this charming story capture your attention and bring the rhyme to life. Lots of color and fun borders on each page bring you into the story.

At the end of the story there are six pages of factoids, activities, games and a list of websites where you can go to learn more about ants.

Bill has once again combined a fun rhyming story with science.

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I think the thing I learned that really surprised me was the fact that if you collected all the ants in the world (that would be 10 QUADRILLION!!!) they would weigh as much as all the people in the world! That's a lot of ants.

So, where can you buy your copy of this great book?

Pick up your copy today at Guardian Angel Publishing.

You can visit Bill over at his site Bill Kirk Writes. See what else this talented writer is up to.

See you back here Sunday with more zoo news.

posted by Zebee aka Joy Delgado
We go Beyond Reading
Laughing Zebra – Books for Children
Fun ways to help children learn
Books Go Beyond Reading

When I was a child, my favorite book was... because....

Good morning everyone, Zebee and the gang here today. We, rather our boss Joy, decided to participate in the “Great Books Blog Tour” this week.

Each day has a different topic of discussion about books. Today’s is “When I was a child, my favorite book was... because....” Several of the animals at the V Zoo wanted to share, so here they are.

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Mori the okapi: That’s easy. My favorite is “Zooprise Party / Fiesta Zoorpresa” because it’s about all of us celebrating my birthday.

Lito the gerenuk: I like “Rainbow Sheep” by Kim Chatel. I think that girl Genevieve is pretty cool.

Elvis the king vulture: I like the stories my mother used to tell me about visiting with the Mayan gods. You know, in ancient times we were the messengers to the gods. Maybe some of us still are…Of the stories our boss Joy has read my favorite one was “There’s a Spider in My Sink!” by Bill Kirk. I liked all the factoids he had in the book. I learned a lot about spiders.

Honey the giraffe: I like “Little Man in the Map” by E. Andrew Martonyi. I learned a lot about the USA and the pictures were great.

Star the giraffe: “Maybe We Are Flamingos” by Sue Thurman. I just thought the babies were cute.

Boris the bear: I like Shari Lyle-Soffe’s book “Nothing Stops Noah.” I like the way he got all the animals back in their cages.

Ringo the bongo: Mine are the ones by Donna Shepherd about Topsy Turvy Land. I really like Dotty.

Fred the peacock: I like Margot Finke’s book, “Rattlesnake Jam.” She’s so funny.

Jabari the leopard: Mine is Lea Schizas book, “Bubba and Giganto.” I can identify with Bubba.

Okay, so there you have them. As for mine, well, there are just so many books to choose from, but I’d have to say “Frankie the Walk and Roll Dog” by Barbara Techel. That Frankie sure has spunk.
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posted by Zebee aka Joy Delgado
We go Beyond Reading
Laughing Zebra – Books for Children
Fun ways to help children learn
Books Go Beyond Reading

Book Review: “There’s a Spider in My Sink!” By Bill Kirk, illustrated by Suzy Brown

Good morning all you out there in Bloggerville. Today I have a really cool book to share with you.

How many of you like spiders? I knew it, not too many huh? After reading everything in this picture book, you might feel differently.

Look! Here come Bill and the star of his story. Hi Bill, hi Ari.

B: Hi Zebee. Love your ‘V Zoo’, don’t you Ari?

A: Yes, there are so many places I could spin webs here. Hi Zebee, thanks for having us here today.

Z: You are both most welcome. So, Bill what got you to write about spiders?

B: Well, spiders have always seemed to be quite at home around our house, both on the outside and the inside. They really are quite helpful. So, my wife and I don’t get too freaked out oves spiders. When our grandson was young, he was very curious, especially about things that crawl around on floors and walls. When he saw a spider in the bath tub or sink, he really got excited. So, it seemed like a fun story to write about.

Z: We have spiders all over the ‘V Zoo’ and they seem to keep the mosquitoes and flies under control.
So tell me Ari, why did you pick this particular sink to spin your web in?

A: That’s a very good question, Zebee. I guess the main reason is the sink is downstairs so I didn’t have far to go once I came inside the house to get warm. Believe me, if you had eight legs and feet like I do, you wouldn’t want to do a lot of walking, especially up all those stairs. If you’re careful, sinks and bath tubs are great places to hang a web because there’s plenty of water when I get thirsty. Besides, I like visitors and Bill and his family who live in this house stop by often to wash their hands or brush their teeth. I feel like I’m part of the family.

Z: Sure sounds like it. I think Suzy did a great job with her pictures. She drew you exactly how you look, don’t you think Ari?

A: Yep, that’s me alright. I think Suzy really captured my softer side. Don’t you just love what she did with my beautiful brown highlights? I suppose you could say Suzy’s my favorite artist.

Z: I couldn’t agree more. So Bill, where did you learn so many interesting things about spiders? I had no idea that some spiders have 12 eyes and that some have none at all! Or that they don’t have ears and hear by picking up sound vibration from the tiny hairs on their legs. Cool stuff.

B: Yeah, I know what you mean. When you get to know them better, spiders are really fascinating. There are hundreds of books in the library and places on the internet where I found information about spiders. I could hardly believe how many people love to study spiders all over the world. Maybe some of your readers might want to grow up to be Arachnologists. That’s a fancy word for someone who spends their life studying spiders.

Z: This book is so full of information and fun to read at the same time. So, where can my readers pick up a copy of “There’s a Spider in My Sink!”

B: Luckily the books are easy to order online. Here are a few links your readers can try, with their parents’ permission, of course.

Guardian Angel Publishing

Z: Thanks for stopping by today Bill and Ari. Come back sometime, okay?

B&A: We will. This was fun. Thanks for having us here to share our book “There’s a Spider in My Sink!”

Z: I’m going over to the King Vulture exhibit to read it to Elvin. See you all on Sunday with more zoo news.